Boiler-brace



R. J. McKAY AND F. R. COOPER.

BOILER'BRACE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 29, 1916.

1,389,889, PatentedSept. 6, 1921.

UNITED. STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT J. MOKAY AND.rnnnnarcxa'ooornn, or PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS TO THE sanaigtnss s'raYBoLrooMPaNY, or McKEns ROCKS, PENN- SYLVANIA, a CORPORATION; or DELAWARE.

, soiLnR-BRAoE.

Application filed July 29,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known, that we, ROBERT J. MoKAY and FREDERICK R. Coornn, citizens of the United States, and residents of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Boiler-Braces; and we do hereby declare the'following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

Our invention relates to boiler stays or braces, and more particularly to the diagonal stays which extend from the top:sheet of the boiler to the front orrear-shee't, as the case may be, to resist the longitudinal strains due to the pressure on the ends of the boiler.

The object of our invention is to provide for, first, the staying of-the ends of a boiler in a more uniform and efiicient manner than by present practice without in any way weakening the end sheets ;"second, in a manner which guarantees absolute. flexibility as well as making it possible toremove and replace stays or braces at will and without interfering with the boiler. sheets; third, in a manner which eliminates present practice of heavy T-irons riveted to .the end sheets and heavy clevis heads on staya'ods thereby making it possible toinsert a greater number of stays or braces'in and through the front and flue-sheet back head of boiler, also supporting the back fine-sheet or fire-box by belly braces from belly of boiler; fourth,

' permitting the placing of the necessary attachments on the outside of the back boilerhead in a more regular and uniform manner; fifth, eliminating the present excessive weight through or by the proper mechanical distribution of metal by our method.

To these ends our invention comprises, generally stated, a bracket secured to the inner wallof the top boiler or roof-sheet, a diagonal stay-rod loosely and detachably fastened to said bracket, plug in the boiler-head flexibly connected to the stayrod, said stay-rod and boiler connection being sufliciently small to pass through the plug opening in the back boiler-head,

whereby the rod and its flexible connection may be inserted through the plug opening and the parts connected, though slightly out of alinement.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of a portion of a boiler showing our improved diagonal stays Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 6, 1921. 1916. Serial No. 112,019.

arranged therein, and Fig. 2 is an enlarged section partly broken away showing our improvedboiler stay.

In the drawings the numeral 2 designates a portion of an ordinary locomotive boiler having the top or roof-sheet 3, the crownsheet 4, and the back boiler-head 5. The

5, said opening and threaded portion being preferably tapered.

The opposite end of thestay-rod 8 is provided with the threaded portion 14. The brackets 15'are riveted or otherwise secured to the top or roof-sheet 3, said'brackets hav ing the opening 16 for the passage of the rear end of the diagonal stay, said opening being in line with the opening 13 in the back boiler-head 5. The bracket 15 has the slanting face 17, and said face is countersunk as at 18 to receive a washer 19 against which the nut 20 bears when said nut is screwed up to secure the stay-rod 8 in position. As the opening 16 is larger than the rod 8, said rod is permitted a certain amount of movement to relieve strains. This gives a flexible joint at the inner end of the rod allowing for acertain amount of play which may be necessary in the insertion or removal of the rod, even though the parts might be slightly out of alinement.

In inserting our improved stay-rod, the rod may be passed through the opening 13 in the back boiler-head 5, the rear end of said stay passing through the opening 16 in the bracket 15, and by screwing the eyeheadll into the opening 13 the outer end of the stay-rod is secured in place. The nut 20 is then applied to the inner threaded end 14 of the stay-rod, and by tightening up said nut bearing against the washer 18, the inner end of the stay-bolt is secured in place. By havingthe washer 19 fitting in the countersunk seat 18 provision is made for the slight movement of the stay-rod, the shifting of said washer in said seat permitting-of such movement. It is apparent that instead of having a washer 19, the inner face of the nut may be shaped to conform to the countersunk seat 18. The stay-rod may be provided with a turn-buckle if desired.

-l/Vhen it is desired to remove our improved stay-rod, 1t is only necessary to release the nut 20, whereupon by unscrewing the eyehead, 11, the stay-rod may be removed by withdrawing it through the opening 13 in the frontboiler-sheet. In this manner I provide a very efficient form of flexible stay-rod which may be readily secured in position and quickly removed in case of repair or for other reasons, while at the same time I dispense with the angles or other support riveted to the inside of the back boiler-head or front flue-sheet to which the outer ends of the stay-rods now commonly employed have been secured. By having the outer ends of the stay-rods extending through the back boiler-head and secured therein, the construction is greatly simplified, and the rod and its flexible con-' whereby the rod and its flexible connection may be inserted through the plug opening and the parts connected, though slightly out of alinement.

2. The combination ofa bracket secured to the inner wall of the top boiler-sheet, said bracket having an opening therein, a diagonal stay-rod passing through said opening, a fastener connected to the inner end of said rod and; said bracket, a plug flexibly connected to the inner end of said rod and said bracket, a plug flexibly connecting the other end of said rod and screw threaded into an opening in the boiler, the opening being sufliciently large to admit passing therethrough of the rod and its flexible joint whereby the rod and the flexible joint may be inserted or removed through the "plug opening and the parts connected, though slightly out of alinement. v

3. The combination of a bracket secured to the inner wall of the top boiler-sheet,said bracket having an opening formed therein, said bracket being countersunk around 7 said opening, a diagonal stay-rod passing through said opening, a washer engaging said countersunk portion, a nut engaging the inner end of said rod and bearing against said washer, the outer end of said rod passing through an opening in the back boiler-head and secured therein.

In testimonywhereof we, the said Bonn-RT J. MoKAY and FREDERICK R. COOPER, have hereunto set our hands. i

V ROBERT J. MoKAY. v

FREDERICK R. COOPER. WVitnesses: a 1 v i JOHN F. WILL, S. ARMSTRONG. V 

